Local Government: Elections

Grant Shapps:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many citizens were registered to vote in local elections in England at the most recent date for which figures are available. [182560]

Angela Eagle:
I have been asked to reply.

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 7 February 2008:

As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your question concerning how many citizens were registered to vote in local elections in England at the most recent date for which figures are available (182560).

38,223,259 people were registered to vote in local elections in England on 1 December 2006. This includes the number of attainers, and is the most recent data available.

Electoral counts for 1 December 2007 will be published on 28 February 2008.

7 Feb 2008 : Column 1313W

Planning Permission: Halifax

Mrs. Riordan:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what percentage of planning permissions in Halifax constituency that went to appeal were overturned in the last five years. [184721]

Mr. Iain Wright:
The Planning Inspectorates data base is not able to identify a population of planning appeals determined within a constituency boundary. Therefore, the following table gives information on the number planning appeals (following applications for planning permission) where the decision of Calderdale metropolitan borough council was overturned i.e. the appeal was allowed, for the years 2003 to 2007, which includes the Halifax area.

Number of planning appeals determined

Percentage of planning appeals a llowed

2003

35

23

2004

38

24

2005

50

16

2006

58

28

2007

91

22

Planning Permission: Renewable Energy

Lynne Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will bring forward proposals to place a duty on planning authorities to take into account community involvement when making decisions on planning permission for renewable energy schemes. [184201]

7 Feb 2008 : Column 1314W

Mr. Iain Wright:
Planning Policy Statement 1: Delivering Sustainable Development requires local planning authorities to produce a Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) setting out how communities will be engaged in the planning process including how they will be consulted on planning applications. An SCI needs to cover the legal requirements for consultation and publicity set out in the Town and Country Planning (General Development Procedure) Order 1995.

We have no plans to introduce an additional duty as described in the question.

Lynne Jones:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what percentage of renewable energy projects dealt with by local planning authorities (a) were turned down and (b) had decisions pending in the last year for which figures are available; and what percentage of each category had been considered by (i) national park authorities and (ii) (A) Labour, (B) Conservative, (C) Liberal Democrat and (D) independently led councils. [184204]

Mr. Iain Wright:
In the calendar year 2007, 34 planning applications for renewable energy projects were determined by local planning authorities in England. Of these, 35 per cent. were refused planning permission. As of 31 December 2007, there were 80 submitted and undetermined planning applications with local planning authorities in England. In 2007 there were no submitted planning applications for renewable energy projects awaiting determination or determined by national park authorities in England. The data disaggregated by controlling political party are as follows:

Percentage

Labour

Conservative

Liberal Democrat

Independent

No Overall Control

Total

Percentage of all planning . applications for renewable energy projects refused planning permission by local planning authorities in England in 2007

0

58 (7)

0

0

42 (5)

100 (12)

Percentage of all submitted and undetermined planning applications for renewable energy projects with local planning authorities in England as of 31/12/07

Quarrying: Planning Permission

Mr. Hoban:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many appeals against planning decisions to allow gravel extraction have been made in the last 10 years; and how many of those appeals have been allowed. [185217]

Mr. Iain Wright:
The following table gives information on the number of planning appeals concerning sand and gravel extraction determined by the Planning Inspectorate for the period since 2000. The Inspectorates data base can only interrogate for data from the year 2000 and cannot identify appeals relating solely for gravel extraction.

Total number of appeals

Number of appeals allowed

2000

5

3

2001

4

3

2002

4

3

2003

8

3

2004

1

0

2005

0

0

2006

2

2

2007

6

5

7 Feb 2008 : Column 1315W

Religious Buildings

Mr. Gordon Prentice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many representations she has received on permissions (a) granted to and (b) withheld from mosques by local authorities to broadcast by loudspeaker the call to prayer; and if she will make a statement. [184092]

Mr. Iain Wright:
The Secretary of State has not received any representations on permissions granted to or withheld from mosques by local authorities to broadcast by loudspeaker the call to prayer.

Representing the Future

Lynne Featherstone:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when her Department will publish its response to the report of the Councillors Commission on representing the future; and if she will make a statement. [184228]

John Healey:
The Government will respond to the Councillors Commission report in the spring.

RLW: Cambridgeshire

Grant Shapps:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what representations her Department has received from representatives of RLW in relation to the proposed development in Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire; and what meetings her Department's representatives have had with that company. [183321]

7 Feb 2008 : Column 1316W

Caroline Flint:
Royal London Waterbeach Ltd. (RLW) has written to Ministers and officials on a number of occasions since 2003 about its development proposals at Waterbeach in Cambridgeshire. Officials met with representatives of RLW in 2004 to discuss the future process for the East of England Plan, but not the merits of the proposed development.

As one of a number of housing initiatives under way the Government are considering eco-towns, and as part of this have sought expressions of interest from developers and local authorities. To reveal the details of recent meetings and representations from developers when this process is underway would have the potential to be detrimental to the process, and those that have put forward eco-towns proposals.

Shropshire

Daniel Kawczynski:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the value was of each grant provided by her Department, its associated agencies and non-departmental public bodies to (a) Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council, (b) Shropshire County Council and (c) Telford and the Wrekin Borough Council in (i) 2006-07 and (ii) 2007-08; and what grants have been planned for 2008-09. [184108]

John Healey:
The following tables set out the value of each grant paid by this Department to (a)Shrewsbury and Atcham borough council, (b) Shropshire county council and (c) Telford and the Wrekin borough council since 2006 and planned payments in 2008-09 for those programmes where known or announced under the Local Government Settlement.